Bicyclist dies after hitting vehicle in Rogers Park

Trib article here

 

September 5, 2010 2:16 PM | 3 Comments | UPDATED STORY

A bicyclist died this afternoon after running through a stop sign and striking a vehicle this morning in the Far North Side's Rogers Park community, according to Chicago police.

The crash happened about 9:45 a.m. in the 2000 block of West Farwell Avenue, police said.

The cyclist, a 69-year-old man, was westbound on Farwell when riding through a stop sign at Ridge Boulevard, striking the vehicle, said Chicago Police Officer Veejay Zala, a police spokesman. He said the victim then fell from the bicycle onto the pavement.

No citations have been issued against the driver of the vehicle that was hit as of this afternoon.

--Roger Badesch and Jeremy Gorner

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Permalink Reply by Vilda on September 5, 2010 at 5:36pm
This story sux! He was 69 years old. He rode through the stop sign and hit the car? this is the worst explanation of an event ever. Are we saying that this 69 yr old man was a speed demon? Un-fucking-real! And some of the inhuman pieces of shit that commented on the article should be hung!
Permalink Reply by Bob Maher on September 5, 2010 at 6:34pm
Very sad for both the cyclist and the driver.

A few of the Ridge / side street intersections are really deceiving for the riders / drivers on the side street - as you approach Ridge there's not much warning that it's a 2-way stop, and not much warning that Ridge is not a side street. Ridge is narrow with street parking through that part of Rogers Park, and visibility is awful.

It's possible that the driver did nothing wrong and had no time to react. It's also possible that the cyclist stopped at the stop sign at the top of the small hill and couldn't see a speeding car because of a large vehicle parked close to the corner.

In any case, very sad.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 6, 2010 at 1:06am
Yes, it is very sad. I'm familiar with that intersection. Sightlines are poor, especially when cars park too close to the intersection, which is not unusual. Cars often speed on that section of Ridge, but we don't know whether or not that was the case in this incident. If the cyclist was unfamiliar with the intersection, it's possible that he may have seen a gap in Ridge traffic and assumed it was safe to go. It's hard to draw further conclusions without more information.

Bob Maher said:
Very sad for both the cyclist and the driver.

A few of the Ridge / side street intersections are really deceiving for the riders / drivers on the side street - as you approach Ridge there's not much warning that it's a 2-way stop, and not much warning that Ridge is not a side street. Ridge is narrow with street parking through that part of Rogers Park, and visibility is awful.

It's possible that the driver did nothing wrong and had no time to react. It's also possible that the cyclist stopped at the stop sign at the top of the small hill and couldn't see a speeding car because of a large vehicle parked close to the corner.

In any case, very sad.
Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on September 6, 2010 at 4:10am
It's probably mentioned so much because it's usually the other way around.

H3N3 said:
Not to mention the bicycle hit the "vehicle."
I guess the Bicycle was a "sporting good" or maybe a "toy."
How many times does it need to be stressed within one paragraph that the "bicycle" hit the "vehicle."
By whose account? Were there any witnesses other than the operator of the "vehicle?"
This story stinks from head to toe and is an insult to the victim.

Gabe said:
This story sux! He was 69 years old. He rode through the stop sign and hit the car? this is the worst explanation of an event ever. Are we saying that this 69 yr old man was a speed demon? Un-fucking-real! And some of the inhuman pieces of shit that commented on the article should be hung!
Permalink Reply by Joel on September 6, 2010 at 2:56pm
Not all cyclists are innocent. I saw one that was about a half second away from being roadkill this afternoon. He flew through a red light on a blind corner (Halsted & 16th) and a car nearly creamed him. To make it even dumber, there was a bus stopped at the corner making it even more difficult to see any cars coming. The cyclist didn't even slow down to look.

H3N3 said:
This story stinks from head to toe and is an insult to the victim.
Permalink Reply by Vilda on September 6, 2010 at 5:00pm
Hi Joel, was the guy blowing the light, that you saw, 69 years old? Cause that was my point. :-) What it looks like in this story is some shit bag killed an old guy on a bike and blamed the old guy. And the comments on the article are ridiculous.
Permalink Reply by David on September 7, 2010 at 1:53am
Some more info is here. Not a lot more, but it makes it clear that the car hit the biker who was already in the intersection. From the original, I had assumed that the cyclist hit the side of the car.

What appears to be the big difference in the stories is this one comes from a local Rogers Park cop who pretty much just tells the story straight, and the original trib article comes from Veejay Zala, an official police spokesperson/news affair officer who, judging from this article at least, has a pretty major "I hate bikes" chip on his shoulder.

And by the way, folks, 69-years-old doesn't mean the cyclist was decrepit, you know.
Permalink Reply by knowbody on September 7, 2010 at 2:23am
just finished breakfast at the corner diner on thorndale where this incident came up in the conversation. one of the regulars said that it happened right in front of where they live. don't believe he was an eye witness but definitely heard how long it took the mini to stop. according to him said she must've been speeding. also claims there are no stop signs on the corner of fargo and ridge.

Serge Lubomudrov said:
I bet the woman in Mini Cooper was talking on her phone. Or texting. David said:
Some more info is here. Not a lot more, but it makes it clear that the car hit the biker who was already in the intersection. From the original, I had assumed that the cyclist hit the side of the car.

What appears to be the big difference in the stories is this one comes from a local Rogers Park cop who pretty much just tells the story straight, and the original trib article comes from Veejay Zala, an official police spokesperson/news affair officer who, judging from this article at least, has a pretty major "I hate bikes" chip on his shoulder.

And by the way, folks, 69-years-old doesn't mean the cyclist was decrepit, you know.
Permalink Reply by Vilda on September 7, 2010 at 2:24am
Better Article David, however it still begs the question how do they know he blew the stop sign without anyone other than the driver as a witness? And thanks for the one more reason it never makes sense to defend a cyclist. Fine he was 69 and flyin around like a mad man.
Permalink Reply by knowbody on September 7, 2010 at 2:59am
correction to my previous post... meant to type farwell instead of fargo. googlemaps also does show that there's a stop sign at the corner of farwell but none for ridge.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on September 7, 2010 at 3:10am
Statements like that are just as ignorant as the ones were people assume the cyclist ran a stop sign or was acting irresponsibly.

The first step in getting other groups to view you respectfully and not speculate in a negative manner is to extend the same courtesy to them.

Serge Lubomudrov said:
I bet the woman in Mini Cooper was talking on her phone. Or texting.

David said:
Some more info is here. Not a lot more, but it makes it clear that the car hit the biker who was already in the intersection. From the original, I had assumed that the cyclist hit the side of the car.

What appears to be the big difference in the stories is this one comes from a local Rogers Park cop who pretty much just tells the story straight, and the original trib article comes from Veejay Zala, an official police spokesperson/news affair officer who, judging from this article at least, has a pretty major "I hate bikes" chip on his shoulder.

And by the way, folks, 69-years-old doesn't mean the cyclist was decrepit, you know.
Permalink Reply by David on September 7, 2010 at 3:13am
Farwell & Ridge is a two-way stop sign rather than four, i.e., there's stop signs on Farwell but not on Ridge. It's possible the car was significantly over the speed limit, of course, but barring that I think this was cyclist error; you're not supposed to pass the stop sign and enter the intersection until it's safe to do so. But we'll never know for sure.

But the two issues Bob brought up are extremely important, I think, much more important than who's at fault in this particular accident. Illegal parking on corners is extremely dangerous, and I'd like to see the fines for this raised significantly. It should be fined as a danger, not as a nuisance. And the city almost never marks two-way vs. four-way stop signs. This is a bit more controversial among some, I realize, but I think it would make roads a lot safer, especially on intersections like Ridge where it's not obvious you're reaching a major street.


Gabe said:
Better Article David, however it still begs the question how do they know he blew the stop sign without anyone other than the driver as a witness? And thanks for the one more reason it never makes sense to defend a cyclist. Fine he was 69 and flyin around like a mad man.

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